http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/automotive/these-vehicle-assassins-will-kill-your-car-prematurely.html http://www.articletrader.com/automotive/these-vehicle-assassins-will-kill-your-car-prematurely.html Sun, 25 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500 Your vehicle is the second biggest investment you'll make in your lifetime. For half of America it's the biggest investment they'll ever make. Cars are now $14,000-$18,000 for sub compacts and $20,000-$40,000 for mid-size and full size. Trucks and SUV's can cost $18,000-$25,000 for compacts and $25,000-$50,000 for full size. People are keeping their vehicles longer than they ever have before. The 2006 R.L. Polk Study reports that American's drive cars that are a median average of 9 years old and trucks that are 7 years old. These owners are looking for ways to make these expensive vehicles last longer and run newer for longer. Keeping your engine, cooling system, fuel system, and drivetrain maintained and clean and the vehicle's exterior and interior polished and clean is the secret to protecting and preserving your vehicle investment.

Here are the vehicle assassins and the ways you can prevent them from killing your vehicle.


1. Engine Oil Oxidation-

As your car runs, the engine oil is exposed to extremes of temperature and pressure, which causes it to break down, and oxidize. This process alters the oil flow, and reduces the lubrication ability and the ability of the oil to cool the engine. As engine oils operate at higher temperatures, more common with modern fuel injected engines, they tend to "boil off", losing valuable components, and leaving behind a viscous sludge; a lot of engine oils can, over the course of time, lose up to 25 percent of their original weight due to high temperature chemistry changes and vaporization of long life volatile compounds. When this happens, they get thicker and circulate poorly, contribute to emissions problems, and reduce fuel economy. Bad oil accelerates engine wear, and abrasive elements accumulate, destroying bearings and causing seals and gaskets to leak. Oil breakdown is the number one engine killer.

Fix: Change your oil regularly (3-5,000 miles) or better yet use 100% synthetic oil in your engine.

2. Engine Sludge, Varnish, and Carbon Buildup-

The primary cause of engine wear is oil breakdown, which lead to accumulations of sludge, varnish, and carbon buildup. These compounds inhibit oil flow and block passages that allow the oil to lubricate the high performance, high motion parts of your engine. In addition to this blocking effect, sludge buildup seriously degrades cooling. This significantly increases the wear on bearings and engine rings. Sludge buildup is the prime culprit in seal leakage and gasket wear as well, since it blocks fresh oil from wetting the seals and gaskets, keeping them swollen. Without this wetting process, gaskets dry out and shrink, crack and leak.

Fix: Change your oil regularly (3-5,000 miles) or better yet use 100% synthetic oil in your engine.

3. Inadequate Oil Filtration-

Your oil filter is a critical part of your engine's performance, and has the job of keeping particulate matter out of the oil so it can flow properly. If it's working properly, the oil will flow through it quickly, and keep the engine running smoothly. Advanced engine technology, and more compact and powerful engines place incredible demands on these filters. To keep from creating a circulation bottleneck in modern engines, the filters tend to only grab the coarser particles, and feature relief valves that open when the demand gets high enough for lubrication. However, they still allow the smallest grit that passes through, such as manufacturing scarf, road dust, and metal flakes from the engine itself to pass; these components are in the 5 to 20 micron range, and they account for nearly 60% of all engine wear. Because these particles match the clearances between components, they can eventually work into the spaces between bearings and rings, and work through seals and gaskets, causing a lot of harm and advancing component fatigue. In extreme cases, they can even generate additional engine debris.

Fix: Use high quality, high efficiency oil filters. Don't allow the oil change shops to use their filters (they use very low quality filters), take in your own oil filter and have them put it on. Don't buy the least expensive oil filter, your costing yourself 100's of times more than you're saving in the long run.

4. Inadequate Air Filtration-

Just like you, your engine needs to breathe. Without air coming in, no ignition happens, and air flow is important for engine cooling and waste removal. The problem with air flow is that it pulls in dust and grime and other components. This stuff is the worst enemy of your engine, and your air filter is the only thing keeping it from damaging your engine. To do the job right, your air filter must not only block harmful dirt and grit, but not obstruct the air flow your engine needs for peak performance.

Fix: Change your air filter once a year. Better yet get one of the new high air flow, high efficiency air filters that are cleanable and reusable. Some of these can be used for 100,000 miles.

5. Transmission Sludge-

Transmissions operate under severe conditions that constantly change, and are exposed to swings of temperature in excess of four hundred degrees. As automatic transmission fluid (ATF) overheats and ages, it loses viscosity and forms sludge, gunks up circulation and plays hell with transmission cooling. Abrasive metals whipped through the engine by aged transmission fluid ruins seals and damages engine components. Eventually, the transmission will shift erratically, vibrate and chatter, and then lock up.

Fix: Change your ATF out every 25-30,000 miles or better yet use 100% synthetic ATF.

6. Drive Line and Differential Abrasion-

Differential ring and pinion gears in your car will eventually suffer corrosion due to lack of lubrication. Eventually, cracks will develop that weaken the gear components and cuase further damage; with excessive wear in the gear boxes, you'll eventually hear noise, and by the time you're hearing it, you're already suffering from metal wear and fatigue. Symptoms of wear in differentials, manual transmissions, and transfer cases are fluid leakage and gear failure.

Fix: Change out your gear oils in your differential and other gear boxes every 25-30,000 miles or better yet use 100% synthetic gear lube.

7. Dirty Fuel and Intake System-

Your fuel is a solution of gasoline and other compounds, which slowly accumulate in your fuel tank, feed likes and fuel injectors or carburetor. Eventually, this buildup will starve your engine for power and performance. Fuel oxidation and carbon buildup, as a result of dirty fuel intake systems, can result in expensive fuel injector failure. Heavy carbon buildup on fuel injectors leads to reduced injector cooling and flow, and inefficient combustion, and they cause a serious hit on fuel economy.

Fix: Run a quality fuel system and fuel injector cleaner though your fuel system every 3-5,000 miles.

8. Poorly Lubricated Wheel Bearings and Steering Joints-

Keeping your wheel bearings and steering joints well lubricated is essential to the life of your car. These components are constantly exposed to shock and road grit, and can suffer scoring, fretting and pitting with inadequate lubrication, causing differential corrosion. Symptoms of wear to these vital components are loose steering, inability to align the wheels, front end vibration, and poor suspension performance. If left untreated, this wear results in catastrophic part failure and expensive repairs.

Fix: Have your wheel bearings re-packed during brake service. Lubricate any lube fittings at least once a year. Use 100% synthetic grease.

9. Cooling System Corrosion-

Phosphate scale is the result of minerals found in tap water combining with coolants in your radiator; this coats the interior of the radiator, radiator hoses and will eventually migrate to the engine coolant passages, causing reduced heat transfer and a severe hit in cooling efficiency. When cooling efficiency drops, this causes your engine to run hotter, and causes excessive engine wear and tear and premature engine wear-out.

Fix: Change out your antifreeze/coolant every 15-20,000 miles and have your cooling system power flushed every 3-5 years.

10. Environmental Damage to Your Interior and Exterior-

The world is a harsh place for your car; the sun will cause your paint to fade, dirt and mud and road salt will cause finishes to crack and pit, and road chemicals can destroy your body work, including cracking the seals around your wheel wells. This harsh environment will also degrade your chrome surfaces, alloy wheels and rubber and plastic body components. Preserving the exterior of your vehicle will help prevent other problems later on, and help it retain value over time.

Fix: Wash your car with a wax safe car wash soap every week. Most people don't know that harsh detergents like dish soap strip off your protective car wax. Get a good car wash soap like Zip Wax. Wax your car with a high quality car wax at least twice a year, do not depend on drive through car washes for your wax. Wipe down and vacuum your interior weekly, use fabric and leather conditioners and protectants. Shampoo that carpet at least twice a year.




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Ron Toomes has been in the Automotive Business for 25 years the last 10 as a Synthetic Lubrication Executive Jobber and Web Site Owner.
Ron writes articles for:
Go-Synthetic.com
BigSkyOil.com

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/automotive/maintenance/save-money-by-making-your-vehicle-last-twice-as-long.html http://www.articletrader.com/automotive/maintenance/save-money-by-making-your-vehicle-last-twice-as-long.html Wed, 09 May 2007 00:00:00 -0500
Buying a car is a big investment. While in inflation adjusted dollars, the cost of a new car hasn't actually risen that much (due to cheaper labor overseas, and efficiencies in manufacturing), for most people just starting out, a new car is a substantial investment – easily a year to half a year's take home income. Making that investment last is in your best interest as a car owner.

Cars, in routine operations, run with temperature extremes ranging from ambient air to three hundred degrees. While they're designed to handle this range, that range of temperatures, and the sheer amount of power involved in running a car, should give you some appreciation for the high quality engineering behind your car's engine, and should give you some hints on what to do to preserve the life of your car.

First of all, don't put off maintenance. Routine maintenance of your car is just like getting a physical every year from the doctor; it's not that you expect to find something wrong, but that you want to find the small problems before they grow to become large ones. In similar light, don't put off changing the oil; remember when we talked about the wide range of temperatures your car undergoes in routine operations? Well, your oil is what protects the moving parts of your car when it runs. Motor oil is meant to coat the parts of the car and lubricate them, and also transmits heat from friction and wear and tear. The "clinginess" of oil to engine parts is its viscosity, and in general, engines are built and tuned to run within a certain range of engine oil viscosities and weights.

That lubrication effect from oil helps prevent the single biggest cause of engine damage: Grinding and wear from road grit, metal particles ground off from inside the engine and more. The oil traps these microscopic particles, and keeps them from abrading the surfaces. These accumulated particles, plus carbon that's "cooked out" of the oil in high temperature circumstances, form engine oil sludge, which is one of the things that regularly changing the oil, and running an engine cleaning test, clears up. Think of it as clearing the gunk out of the engine to make it run better.

Speaking of engine damage and damaging your car, it's pretty clear that anything that makes your oil last longer is going to be beneficial to your car's health and operations. One of the big culprits in engine damage, especially with new cars, is the "break in" phase. Drive gently during the first 50-100 miles you own the car; and vary your speed regularly over the first 500 miles. What you're trying to do is give your engine an opportunity to "work in" all the places where contact occurs; this is the time when most of the internal particulate damage to a car is done. By varying your speed for the first 500 miles or so, you're helping to ensure that proper seating of your piston rings takes please, which will help reduce oil consumption for the life of the car. Also, be sure to flush and change the oil after the first 1500 miles or so; this will eliminate microscopic bits of metal and grit that get shaken loose during the break in phase.

After changing the oil, be sure to replace it with a high quality synthetic motor oil. Synthetics are formulated to maintain viscosity over a wider range of temperatures, and to avoid high temperature breakdowns and boil off. They produce fewer carbon deposits, and retain their viscosity for up to three times longer, and offer generally better protection throughout their cycle.

The other place where routine work and careful driving can greatly extend the life of your car is the transmission. Drive gently – avoid making sudden starts and stops. After you're done with the break-in period, try to maintain a constant speed when you drive. It doesn't save any time to accelerate and break suddenly, but it does wear the engine out faster. Likewise, only change gears when you need to – this prevents wear and tear on the transmission. Like the advice above about engine oil, use a high quality synthetic for your transmission fluid, and replace the transmission fluid early on a new car, for the same reasons you do your first oil change after 1500 miles.

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Ron Toomes has been in the Automotive Business for 25 years the last 10 as a Synthetic Lubrication Executive Jobber and Web Site Owner.
Ron writes articles for:
Go-Synthetic.com
BigSkyOil.com


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/finance/taxes/tax-write-offs-you-need-everyone-needs-to-start-a-home-business-now.html http://www.articletrader.com/finance/taxes/tax-write-offs-you-need-everyone-needs-to-start-a-home-business-now.html Wed, 09 May 2007 00:00:00 -0500 It's tax time and everyone is feeling the pain. There is a widely unknown source of write-offs for any every day person. Having a home business allows anyone to take the write-offs that the Corporate Giants get. Yes, you can get great business deductions with a home business! The best thing about a home business is that you probably will not have nearly as much overhead as a traditional brick and mortar business. You do not have to pay for office or business space; just pay your rent along with your other bills. And you can get all of the tax write-offs those corporate giants get with your home business. Plus, you are working as an independent, which means you get to manage your own hours, work where you want, take time off when you need it, do the work you love to do, and more.

Tax Advantages for the Home Business Office

Home businesses have many tax advantages and benefits. Here is an example of some various home business deductions you can take advantage of:


Home Office Deductions -

If you use a room in your home or apartment for your business office, you can take the home office deduction. You simply need to use one space in your home for work for your business solely, and nothing else. This will have you qualified to take the deduction. To make sure that you will qualify for the home office deduction utilize one room in your home as your work office, and use it for nothing else.


Home Office Renovation Deductions -

If you make any upgrades to your home office you can deduct those expenses in your taxes. For example, if you paint your home office, fix something, have an addition created, or any other renovations you can write-off those expenses in your taxes.


Property Cost Deductions -

You can also write-off a portion of your rent or mortgage payments for the year due to your use of your home office. You will need to figure out how much square footage your home office is in relation to your entire home. Then you can calculate how much you can deduct depending on how much you pay in rent or in your mortgage.


Tax Deductions for a Home Business -

There are so many deductions to take advantage of. You should make yourself fully aware of all of the tax write-offs you can take advantage of. Here is an outline of those many possible home business tax write-offs.


Home Office Security -

If you keep your home office under security, such as by using a security alarm system, using camera monitoring, or other similar ways to keep your home office safe, you can probably write-off those expenses in your taxes.


Utility Expenses -

The cost of your electric payments can be deducted for as much electricity you use in your home office. You will have to calculate how much you spend on this in order to deduct those expenses. If you pay for a business telephone line, you can write-off that expense.


Transportation Expenses -

You can deduct your expenses for traveling to destinations to conduct business, such as going to the bank, visiting a client, dropping off paperwork – anything you do when you run errands for your business – you can deduct those expenses. If you move into a new home during the year you can deduct the expenses of moving the business part of your home.


Miscellaneous Home Business Deductions -

When you entertain clients or meet them for dinner, you can deduct the travel costs, as well as the cost of the meal or entertainment. Usually you can deduct up to 50% of these expenses.

When you buy something such as software, office supplies, and etc. you can deduct those expenses because they are a direct expense of your home business. Do you want a new computer? You can deduct a new computer, printer, scanner, or any other office equipment you use. Do you contact clients via internet or have a business web site? Deduct your Internet Provider, hosting costs, and your Domain name costs.

Have you taken any classes, seminars, or other training that is directly related to your home business? You can deduct those expenses.


How to Manage Home Business Taxes -

The one main key to getting all of the home business tax write-offs is managing your home business taxes well. You will need them well maintained and well organized. You need to keep records of all of your expenses in order to be able to take advantage of those home business deductions.

Receipts: Keep receipts from every expense you have throughout the year. You will need these so you can show that you did pay for these business costs.

Travel Logs: In order to take advantage of the travel deductions you will need to keep a log (best kept in your vehicle) of where you travel, why you are traveling there, the time and date, the starting mileage, and finishing mileage.


Maintaining Your Home Business Taxes Throughout the Year -

As mentioned above, it is advised that you keep your receipts and logs well maintained throughout the year by keeping them well organized. You can do this by starting some files for each month or quarter and track your expenses for each amount of time. Keep them all calculated for the period of time you choose so that when tax time comes around you won't have to do as many calculations all at once.

Having your own home business has numerous benefits from all ends, and the best one may just be the tax write-offs you can take advantage of!

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Ron Toomes has been in the Automotive Business for 25 years the last 10 as a Synthetic Lubrication Executive Jobber and Web Site Owner.
Ron writes articles for:
Go-Synthetic.com
BigSkyOil.com


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/automotive/is-the-price-of-gas-draining-your-bank-account-guaranteed-fuel-saving-tips.html http://www.articletrader.com/automotive/is-the-price-of-gas-draining-your-bank-account-guaranteed-fuel-saving-tips.html Thu, 19 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0500


If you have filled up your vehicle lately, you have noticed how exorbitant the fuel prices are these days. In fact, as the price continues to creep toward $3.00 a gallon and even more, many people are unable to actually fill their tank. Instead, they put in $20 here or $40 there in an effort to just get back and forth from work. These rising fuel prices are grounding families who once enjoyed regular family outings. They must make shorter trips, or stay at home as fuel becomes somewhat of a luxury in some respects. As these prices put a stranglehold on the average consumer's pocketbook, many are left with the decision to fill their tank or put food on the table. The days of $1.99 a gallon are gone, the days of $.99 a gallon (yes, we old timers remember the "good ole days") are long gone. But, we still have a few tricks up our sleeve and, believe it or not, you can squeeze a few extra miles per gallon from your vehicle. Try these tips and put your fuel bill on a diet.



Choose a vehicle that is more fuel efficient

Now, wait. Before you say, "Well, duh! If I could do that I already would have!" Fair enough. However, think about this: When you compare a car that gets 20 mpg against a car that gets 30 mpg, based on 15,000 miles of annual driving and an average fuel cost of $2.65, you save $633 a year if you drive the 30 mpg car. Over the course of five years the savings grow to $3,313. Not too shabby. And I bet that three thousand bucks could really come in handy!

Plan your trips and errands more efficiently

Plan your trips so that you can accomplish more things in one trip as opposed to making a number of trips. Also, try to arrange it so that you follow some logical order that does not have you doubling back and going out of your way unnecessarily. For instance, if you need to go to the office to pay your utilities bill, say you are late, instead of trekking across town, burning up precious, expensive fuel, see if your local grocery accepts payments. Many utilities, gas and phone companies have this convenient service in grocery stores. Often you just need to pay the bill at the grocery store, then go home and call in the receipt number

Change your oil routinely and change to synthetic oil

Change your oil per the car manufacturer's recommendations. Better yet change over to synthetic oil. Synthetic oil and lubricants reduce friction in your engine, your transmission, and your gear boxes. When friction is reduced it takes less energy to turn the wheels of your vehicle, thus increased efficiency and increased fuel economy. Engines run higher RPM on the same fuel, reduced friction means better gas economy and better protection for your engine. Synthetic oil in your engine, transmission, and drive train could save you 5% or more on gas costs. Synthetic oil saves you money in other ways too. You can safely go longer between oil changes.

Keep your car in good running condition, watch those tires

Keep your tires in good shape; rotate and balance them regularly. Keep your tires properly inflated. Under inflated tires can cost you 10% or more in fuel economy. Get regular tune ups on your car. Repair your car when you notice a problem. Regular preventative maintenance alone can save you around 4% or better on fuel costs.

Be a more efficient driver

OK, your road ragers and speed demons, you may not like this one, but if you want to lower your fuel consumption by as much as 33 percent on the highway, then listen up. Speeding, sudden braking and rapid acceleration cause your car to guzzle the gas. These activities are big time fuel wasters. Drive more sensibly. Your car will thank you because of fewer repairs, your insurance company will thank you because of fewer accidents and your wallet will thank you because you won't be draining it as often for fuel. Now, go take all this money that you are saving by following these tips and take the family out to dinner!




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Ron Toomes has been in the Automotive Business for 25 years the last 10 as a Synthetic Lubrication Executive Jobber and Web Site Owner. Ron writes articles for:http://Go-Synthetic.com

Ron's Web Site
Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>